Contribution of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil to the development of plant cultivars and their impact on agriculture
Aparecida das Graças Souza; Nelcimar Reis Claret de Sousa; Ricardo Atroch Lopes; André Luiz Barcelos; Everton Cordeiro; Maria do Socorro Oliveira; Rafael Moisés Padilha de Alves; João Toé de Farias Neto; Hiroshi Silva Filho Noda; Danilo F Yuyama; Kaoru Almeida; Caio Márcio Vasconcellos and Maria Teresa Gomes Cordeiro de Lopes Ohashi
Abstract: This paper describes the development of breeding programs in northern Brazil and their main impacts on agriculture. Their contribution to the breeding of the species palm oil, acai fruit, cacao, cupuaçu, guarana, tomato, camu-camu, cocona, peach palm, and rubber was laid out in detail. Advances in breeding programs of institutions such as Embrapa, Ceplac, Inpa, and Universities require investments in infrastructure and in human and financial resources to ensure continuity and efficiency in economic, social and environmental gains. The improvement of native species, the main focus of the breeding programs of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil, is a form of exploiting the Amazonian biodiversity for the benefit of society. Therefore, policies to foster research institutions should be a subject of deliberation and action of the scientific and technological community in Brazil.